Stamford, Conn.—Worldwide payments conducted via mobile devices will surpass $171.5 billion this year, a 61.9% increase from 2011's $105.9 billion, according to market research company Gartner Inc.

According to Gartner's “Forecast: Mobile Payment, Worldwide, 2009-2016,” mobile transaction volume and value will average 42.0% annual growth through 2016. SMS text remains the dominant technology in developing markets, while near field communication (NFC) transactions will remain relatively low through 2015, the company said.

Merchandise purchases will drive transactions in North America and Western Europe, including e-commerce and in-store purchases. Asia/Pacific tops all regions in the number of users, followed by Africa. Eastern Europe will see the highest user growth from a small base, Gartner said.